Carry on travelling (RTW) or join the real world....

Hi, i've just got back from 4 months travelling in South and North America and had the most amazing time of my life (btw - if anyone needs any help/advice on those areas let me know i'd be more than happy to help!).

Now i'm back home and due to start a very good job with a very good firm that I got before I left. Thing is that now I have the travelling bug... all I want to do is travel. So should I do the sensible thing and settle into the real world or follow my heart at carry on travelling? I know that no one can make this decision for me but i'm sure some of you must have been in a similar position...

If i do go i intend to get a RTW ticket and fly off to Bankok and spend 6 months in India, Thailand, Australia and a bit more time in South America. If I travel on a serious budget do you reckon I could get by on doing this around £4000?

I was in a similar position myself a few years ago - sensible job or rtw travel. I went with the latter and never regretted it! I imagine that you're still pretty young so there's plently of time for you to settle down in the UK. Its unlikely you'll ever regret giving up a job that you never started but if you dont travel now while you have the chance you could regret it forever!

I did the same when I was 30, just packed up job, sold flat and took off. India, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia - 8 months in all. The best thing that ever happened to me. It changed me and my outlook forever. I never did return to the UK, settled down to a slower life in the Caribbean, been here 22 years now.

I think I'd say work for a bit and then if you still feel the same, take off on another trip. 4000 pounds sounds plenty, depends on how much time you want to take, and how you want to travel. I backpacked - in those days of course it was safer compared to now.

Depends what you want out of your life. If travelling makes you happy, how can you go against that? I think we just need to go with the flow and everything will slip into place. I'm taking a bit of a career risk going travelling now, but I know I wouldn't be so happy if I stayed. Just make sure you give them plenty of notice so you don't burn your bridges. You never know, there may be a place for you there when you are next back. If you come back!!

I do think £4k may be pushing it for a RTW ticket (which would be a lot if you include Asia, Australia and S. America) plus living expenses in those places. But then, I've never done it, so I could be wrong. You would probably be ok for just Asia. I have a similar budget for 8 months in Asia and have only paid 400 for a flight!! Depends how much you are willing to rough it, I guess. Have you thought about doing some temp work in Aus?

Hello Acdale,I am happy for you that you had a great time in South and North America, and most of all you seem to enjoy this world and this life more. To me, travelling is best way to learn about the world and to learn about myself. Surely you can travel through Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, China, Cambodia, Laos or even more with 5,000 USD!! I did such a trip with half of that amount! (but I live in this region, in Vietnam)

However, I also think that you are still pretty young, there's time enough to travel, those countries are still there, but a good job is not always available and you should make money to travel. Perhaps save 1 year and travel for 2 years (or keep multiplizing it) to get the best from it!

Anyway enjoy your good memories now.

-snip-

Moderator comment: Please refrain from placing e-mail addresses in the open forums, as it is an open invitaion to spammers. Please use the Message Center for correspondence. Thank you.

I say go travelling again!!This country is so wrapped up in getting mortgages!! I understand that everyone will want one eventually but you will know when the time is right and you wont need to ask people what to do. Your just trying to be sensibleZZZZzzzz, when you know that all you want to do is go off exploring for another few months.You settle down now and you will find it difficult to go off travelling, but you go off and come back, then tell us if you have made the wrong choice!! Bet you say your glad you did it!